Page 7 of One Moment in Time
After what felt like an hour and a half, it sprang to life, and there was… nothing. Not a single notification. He felt himself relax, felt his shoulders drop back down to normal until…
Ping. Ping. Ping. Ping. Ping.
Five messages. All from Layla. He opened the first one.
Aiden, I’m so sorry, I don’t think I can do this.
Fuck. His eyes moved down to the second one, now sitting there in his messages.
I love you so much but it’s too soon. I need some space to think.
Fuck. His jaw clenched tight, his natural reaction in times of stress.
I’m not coming today. I just can’t. I’m leaving right now. Going… somewhere. I don’t know where.
Noooooo.
Please explain to everyone. I’m so sorry to leave all this on you.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. All these people. What the hell was he going to say? And how could she do this? He loved her. She loved him. This was supposed to be the start of an amazing life together.
The last message…
And please, please forgive me.
He read them all again, then a third time.
Nope, they still said exactly the same thing. For fuck’s sake, how could this be happening? How could she walk away like this?
Panic and disbelief were in charge of his emotions, closely followed by concern for Layla, embarrassment, confusion and devastation. Not anger. Growing up with a dad who was swift to lose his cool had given Aiden a healthy aversion to rage and fury. They solved nothing. Throwing a chair wasn’t going to bring his fiancée dancing towards him.
Out of the corner of his eye, Aiden saw that half the guests were now staring in his direction, the other half whispering busily to each other. As for the celebrant, Aiden watched as he finished reading a message on his phone, tucked his book under one arm and set off across the sands in the direction of the nearby car park. It didn’t take a genius to guess that someone from the bridal party had sent a few texts to notify loved ones and they were all – with the exception of the master of ceremonies who had already cut loose – watching him, waiting to see his reaction.
And again, fuck. What the hell was he supposed to do? Only one answer was coming to him right now.
‘Trevon, I’ll take that beer now, bud.’
4
EILEEN
April 2023
Even if the celebrant hadn’t been high-tailing it back to his vehicle, Eileen would have sensed that something wasn’t right. And it wasn’t just an uneasy feeling because for the first time in ten years she was back at the house that held so many memories for their family – some great, a few terrible. Now, she really hoped another awful one wasn’t heading straight for them.
She glanced around, caught Aiden’s gaze, and a silent conversation passed between them. He shook his head sorrowfully, eyes filled with confusion. Between that, and the flurry of texts that had distracted everyone on the bride’s side of the aisle, not to mention the absence of Aiden’s soon-to-be wife, Eileen knew immediately what that meant. Layla wasn’t coming. Bugger.
Eileen slipped out of her seat and was by his side in seconds, even though it put her within earshot of her ex-husband – a place that she had made it her life mission to avoid.
She wasn’t in direct eyeline with her ex, but she did notice that he was pretty ruddy around the face. All that breathing in to keep his stomach as flat as possible in the presence of his latest girlfriend and Eileen’s fake boyfriend.
‘What’s happened, son?’
Aiden turned his phone around and showed her the texts from Layla.
Almost twenty years married to Gary, and then ten years of peace afterwards had taught Eileen that deep breaths, staying cool in a crisis and taking the high road were all good for both her health and her quality of life. However, right now, she wasn’t feeling like taking the bloody high road. Right now, she wanted to give that flash tart a piece of her mind for breaking her son’s heart.
And yet…
